Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
and sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
and looked down one as far as I could
to where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
and having perhaps the better claim
because it was grassy and wanted wear;
though as for that, the passing there
had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
in leaves no feet had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference

 

 

Popular explanation of this poem is that it is a call for the reader to forge his or her own way in life and not follow the path that others have already taken.

However, it is also possible to read it as an ironic statement against such notions [1]. Frost is said to have written the poem as a sly joke on his friend Edward Thomas, and to have warned audiences, "You have to be careful of that one; it's a tricky poem—very tricky."(see notes at: [2]). Frost and Thomas were two of the Dymock Poets who met and wrote together in the village of Dymock, Gloucestershire, England during a brief period leading up to World War I. The woods around Dymock, where the two poets walked were carpeted with wild daffodils (hence the "yellow wood") each spring. Thomas was keen to show his American friend the local views and flora, but had a habit of regretting the routes he had chosen for their walks. Frost is quoted as saying that Thomas failed to recognize himself as the subject of the poem as the irony had been handled with too much subtlety.

Although this poem is often cited as a source for inspiration and encouraging individuality it contains key contradictions and ambiguities. For example, lines 9-10 state, "[t]hough as for that the passing there/Had worn them really about the same". So, even though it is often read and taught that the speaker chooses "the one less traveled by," the speaker of the poem contradicts himself by saying the roads were ultimately the same. This is further illuminated in line 11's declaration that, "And both that morning equally lay" (emphasis added).

The misreading that the speaker takes "the one less traveled by" is the first of two popular misinterpretations. According to Frost, the key to the poem is found in line 16, "I shall be telling this with a sigh". Also, the ambiguity of the closing lines, "I took the one less traveled by, /And that has made all the difference." A close reading of this highly anthologized poem must admit that the speaker leaves the reader wondering whether the speaker means his choice has made a good or bad difference in the speaker's life. Also, why is the speaker telling it with a sigh?

One might, looking at the title ("The Road Not Taken"), come to the conclusion that he sighs because in retrospect, he wishes he had taken the other road, thinking his life may have been better somehow. Still, others interpret the title as an emphasis that he is taking the less travelled path. It is the "Road Not Taken" by most other people, and he is the exception.

Some believe readers must acknowledge that though the poem closes in ambiguity, it is clear the initial choice of the road taken has made all the difference, for because of that choice, "way leads on to way". Still, others suggest that the line "And that has made all the difference" is meant to be one of jest or sarcasm. Thus the traveler (ie, Frost) is trying to tell the reader that the most important issue is simply to choose and therefore not become lost trying to decide whether to take this or that road. The important issue, then, is to make the decision and then follow through.

Another take on the poem is that although the speaker reluctantly takes the less travelled road, it was in fact the better choice. The speaker was unable to understand that the other road, though appearing to be the same as the other, was actually the better choice altogether and that following his gut instinct was a wiser choice. Most times the right decision is clouded with uncertainty.

There are some who suggest that the poem is, in fact, about how when we recount our lives—especially those events that we believe either reflect or shape our identities—we confabulate, adding meaning to them [3]. If we are to read Frost as a modernist [4] or a realist, then this would make sense, as the application of symbolism to this choice in the woods would be a romantic gesture.

古老肉的精髓在于“外脆内嫩”——

多次油炸工序，内外分开成熟的技巧

1.       将肉切成类长方形状，用刀背拍松

2.       将肉块和酒，盐，味精，葱姜搅拌——内层肉的咸香口味

3.       将淀粉和少许水调和后，和肉均匀搅拌——肉的第一层衣服

4.       将肉逐块再均匀包上一层淀粉，捏成大小均匀球状——香脆外壳

5.       第一次下油锅（小火），炸至暗黄色取出——先使内层肉成熟

6.       将油烧纸滚烫（大火），重新放入肉球，炸至金黄色取出——制造外层香脆的口感

7.       重新放入少许油，加入沙司，稍许糖和醋，制作主要的味道

8.       加入肉球，稍许淀粉勾芡，最后加入少许油使色面光亮。